Sep 10, 2008 11:30 pm US/Eastern
SEPTA Hammer Attack Suspect In Custody
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
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Surveillance footage of a vicious attack aboard a SEPTA train on September 4.
CBS
A suspect has been arrested following a violent hammer attack aboard SEPTA's Broad Street Line and Philadelphia Police say he has a history of violence.
After receiving a tip call from the suspect's mother, Toni Frazier, police picked up 26-year-old Thomas Scantling at a mental institution in Belmont at about 11:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said Scantling has been charged with aggravated assault and related offenses in the attack of a SEPTA passenger in the early morning hours of September 4.
Surveillance cameras were rolling as Scantling boarded the train with his 6-year-old son. After kissing the child and sitting him down in a nearby seat, the suspect is seen removing a hammer from his bag before viciously attacking 20-year-old Dewayne Taylor.
As the train stopped, the suspect continued to assault Taylor on the platform before fleeing the scene with the young boy.
Taylor took himself to Temple University Hospital where he was treated for a broken finger and lacerations to his head and neck.
"We're very fortunate we don't have a homicide here. The way that individual was beaten with that hammer, it could very well have caused sufficient trauma to cause death," Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said.
While the suspect did not take anything in the incident, police said another passenger stole Taylor's cell phone and resold it for $150.
The attack on the young victim was apparently random and unprovoked. Police said none of the passengers on board the train intervened during the assault.
"I really didn't expect anybody to do anything, but it would have helped if they did," said Taylor.
"They better hope they are never the victim of a crime, because if something like that happened to them, I'm sure they would want someone to step forward and give them a hand," Ramsey said.
Scantling's family members said they had him committed hours after the incident occurred, but they had no idea he was involved until the video surfaced. The suspect's aunt said they have been trying to get him help for years. "He's not sane," she said.
Scantling's mother told CBS 3 he is schizophrenic and needs help.
Hours before the attack, Mrs. Frazier said she tried to convince her son he was hallucinating when he told her he thought two men were following him. It is the same thing he told his little boy just minutes before pulling out the hammer and attacking the sleeping rider.
In a card written shortly after the attack, Scantling wrote in part about his son. A portion of the card read: "I am sorry he had to experience some of the things he did that night. But my intentions were good, believe me. I love you all. Keep me in your prayers."
"Thomas is not a bad person, he's not a vicious person, it is his mind," said a tearful Frazier.
Commissioner Ramsey said Scantling has a history of robbery, rape, aggravated assault and narcotics violations. He was officially charged with attempted murder in this crime Wednesday.
"When you look at his criminal history, and if he did suffer from mental illness, why is he out among us," Ramsey said. "I don't care, keep him off the street."
Scantling is being held on $1 million bail.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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